Casing head



Dec. 5, 1950 G. D. JQHNSON CASING HEAD Original Filed Dec. 22, 1945 mn AJIIIILIJIIII Patented Dec. 5, 1950 E'ASINGi HEAD Glenn D. Johnson,Comptpn, ,-Ga 1i;f.,,assignon,,to 'Baa'sh-Ross Tool Companwllos Angeles,Calif.,

a corporation of California Original application Decemdicr22,vl9a3;ySerialzNfl.

515,223,. Dividedl and thgiS applicat on :DfiFfilfl- This inventionrelates 'to a casing head and it is ageneral object of the'inventiontoprovide an improved, simple, inexpensive andpractical casing headconstructionj'for use on wells.

This application is adivision of my co-pending application entitledfCasing "Head',1'serial No. 5115223, filedDecem ber 22,111943, now'Patent No. 8,!7 g an ediMay I0, "1

'A wide variety of structures'have been proposed and usedin thefinishing of wells, these devices being commonly termed casing heads. Inmany situations it has been found desirable and practical to use certain.weldedconstructions in such situations. However, such constructionshave presented certain limitations and difficulties.

It'is an object of the present invention to provide .a casing headconstruction particularly applicable for use where welded constructionsare employed, it being a; feature of the invention to provide ,a headwherein welded joints are employed so 'that'they are most efficient,dependable, .and are accessible.

Another object of my invention is to provide improvementsin'the baseconstruction ofa casing head. "By my present invention I provide a 'baseapplicable'to ,acasing head sothat it not only formsan effective supportfor the headbut also a tie between'the head and casing. Another featureof ,'the' base provided ;by my invention is *theconstruction wherebythey'base can be effectively applied to 'thei'head without, in any wayinterfering with'the other parts of the head whichmust he reached.

A further obj ect' of the present invention 'is to provide improvements-in a casing"head of the character referredto-which'results in;a compactarrangement of parts and which will accommodate an'ordinary :or standardcompanion flange of 'a-fittin;g, or the like, that maybe applied tothehead. *Heretoforein welded head constructionsit has "been rcommon-"to,employ arrangements and combinations ;of parts which ,made specialcompanionflanges necessary on :parts to be attached to'the head.

:The various objects and features of my invention willbe'fully'understood from thejfollowing detailed description ,ofa typicalpreferred form thereof, throughout which description reference is madeto the laccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view-of al head construction embodying the presentinvention, the parts shown at 'theleft of the figure being :in sectionand those rat, the right of the figure beinglin elevation. Fig.3 is a,perspective View of the shoulder for the inner -casing,.,-,showing it,indet l e dl .wnne q w h't body l9. an a ingjl shonlder-means lffladapted tozbea plied toan inner casing M arranged through the bod ausqrt i i' a fi e f heb v' 'tq 1 p s ou der 713 pa kina een T f e ing'betweenthe inner casing- 41 "and there-body and various otherfeaturesthe details of which will 'bejhereinafterdescribed.

:T bod .15 ,iedapte i' b secure ath upper end offthe casing l-ljtoproject slightly ahovegthe casing and in 'its'preferred form it has a nla tip fden ndm s v ion 1 whichis tubular in form and dependsdownwardlyto receivefthe upper end portion pithe casingfll Th t t ighfly a -th can 'xeferi ta di ta ls b' a ti llv h wnj h i wm aSffiisfiljlglliShfidfibm aninfinite distance such as might be represented by -a pipe-pr likestructure. A bore or; cavity -l8 extends "downwardly into -the body fromits upperend {to accommodate otherparts, -as-will behereinaftendescribed. "The cavity 18 terminates ina-;s eat "[9 whichcarries the support I 5,; A hange -20 1's :provided, at "the upper-end-of 1the bod-y-to proiect radially beyond the other gparts andftoserveas apmeansgwhereby t ir s: sa fz e, ouple w th, other. a -tslb fflting i h tima be an i d fih f ead he bod haspne rm reifl i d Q lDQQF QBYTZ' jlpcagtflilmmediatelyfbelpwtheffihll fii' fl an communc tio warrihelca ity i sk T-. 3 l9W@ T,113m i thab q $1. has alib re,.,2.2g .,toreceive HD1281. end por on oifth o ten well asin fil The bore terminatesin,,a,1 i1 'b es e quld rrzs ,whichFl mits t e ns tion ,o fthe jlcaslngjinto .th s irt. ,Incaccordan elWii h the sentinventi nl l mn o lw l into join ,or., connect thc ,body 10 e and casing ill ndcas aiie ture of te-m nt ml emmo ltw en r l indepe dentea s we oelgb -Q wh vhl xiendenine. r n theeonne ed'n r and .each,,of .whicbdis andpf itself aa secure,dep nded lcon eefii semeem .Qne. of,the; welded connections is anextenior weld and is provided at 24 and joins the lowe end it ejsh rtl rsleeved w hithflfififiliifillhp th well casing II. It will be seen fromthe drawings that the lower end of the sleeve i7 is fully exposed at theexterior of the head so it can be readily reached with standard weldingequipment. The other welded connection is an interior weld and isprovided at '25 between the upper end of the well casing ii and theinterior of the skirt l1. Both welds extend continuously and entirelyaround the casing and skirt.

In accordance with my invention I form the skirt ll so that it has athin or light wall. It is preferred to form it so that its wall is aboutequal in thickness to that of the casing II. This proportioning of theskirt ll is important as it greatly facilitates the obtaining of properwelds 24 and 25. Heretofore, in constructions of this general character,attempts have been made to weld casing to bodies or heads of substantialmass and the results have not been altogether satisfactory. Parts suchas a casing heador body are usuallymade. of materials that do not lendthemselves readily to welding, and if an attempt is made to weld athin-walled part to a thick-walled body the welding dlificulties areaggravated. By providing a thin-walledskirt H I am able to obtaindependable and satisfactory welds 24 and 25.

It is preferred, in practice, to provide one or more openings 2e in theskirt ii to communicate with the bore 22 between the welds 24 and 25 sothat tests can be made to determine whether or not the welds are tight.Tests can be made at any time through the openings 2'6 and if necessarysuitable plastic packing can be inserted through the openings 26 to sealbetween skirt ll and well casing H to eliminate any slight leakage thatmay occur should the welds prove defective. To facilitate theapplication of packing an annular channel 2? may be provided between theskirt and casing to carry packing.

The base i2 provided by my invention is in the nature of an attachmentto be applied to the other parts and may or may not be used ascircumstances-require. invention "is the fact that the base is a simpleconstruction readily applicable to the other parts andwhen appliedserves as an efiective tie between the body H) and easing ll.

1 In its preferred form the base l2 includes a base plate 30 which maybe a flat member arranged around the casing l I and designed to rest onthe floor of the cellar or on any other suitable support. The plate hasa central annular por tionthe opening of which passes the casing H. Iprefer to fit the central annular portion of the base plate 36 closelyaround the casing H and to provide said portion of the plate with a topor upper (and suitable for the reception of welds 3i between the baseplate and the casing ll. Throughthis, construction the base'plate 30 isindependently and eilectively joined with 'the casing ii at the desiredpoint; I further provide upstanding ribs 32 on the peripheral portion ofthe base plate 30 which projects radially from the central annularportion and which may be thinner than the central annular portion asclearly shown in Fig. 1. The ribs are designed to engage underoverhanging or downwardly facing parts of the body Ill and their upperends are joined with such parts by welding 33. In the particularconstruction illustratedsome of the ribs 32 engage under the flange 20and are welded thereto while others engage under the flanges 2| and arewelded thereto.

Inaccordance with my present invention the A feature of'the present 4-ribs 32 are spaced outwardly from the skirt ll of the body it leaving asubstantial space 70 between adjacent ribs and the skirt. Thisconstruction allows free access entirely around the skirt ii tofacilitate convenient welding of the lower end of the skirt to thecasing H.

In practice the base construction hereinabove described can be welded tothe body 56 in a shop when it is known that the base is desired, inwhich case the welds 3i are the only operations required at the well,or, if convenient, the body iii and base 52 can be handled as separateparts and the welds 3i and 33 can both be made at the well.

The shoulder means i3 is normally located within the body it? and is anelement which is secured to the inner casing it. The shoulder means itis preferably in the form of a split ring having two sections A and B.The sections A and B are divided longitudinally of the head and formhalves of an annular shoulder to be engaged around the casing i l. Iprefer to se cure the sections A and B in assembled position throughwelding. In practice I provide an upwardly projecting flange 35 on themeans 53 to be welded to the exterior of the casing it. The upper edgeof the flange is preferably collapsed to materially lengthen the weldedconnection and thereby add to its strength.

The shoulder means i3 is fixed on the inner casing i i so that when thecasing is is in the desired'vertical position in the body ii"; it islocated at or in a position to be supported by the support it carriedon'the seat id. The shoulder means it is proportioned to freely passthrough the body it and it may also be made to pass I through the'casingii if desired. The exterior or outer face of the shoulder means its istapered to cooperate with the support it. As shown in the drawings theexterior of the shoulder is is tapered downwardly and inwardly.

The support it is provided to carry the shoulder means l3 and is in theform of an annular ring designed to rest on the seat is in the body andits bore or inner surface 37 is tapered to correspond to the surface 36of the shoulder and is adapted to receive the shoulder.

The means i5 may be a split ring construction to facilitate insertioninto or removal from opcrating position in the body around partsarranged in the body. In the case illustrated the seat it is showndownwardly and inwardly tapered and, therefore, the exterior of thesupport l5 has a downwardly and inwardly tapered part 36 designed to fitthe seat iii.

Longitudinal channels it are formed in the inner portion of the supportit and similar channels ii are formed in the exterior of the shoulderThe channels til and il'are made of. sufficient circumferential extentand are made deep enough so that the shoulder l3 can be rotativelypositioned with refe ence to the support it, so that the shoulder can bepassed through the support. When the shoulder and support are rotativelyrelated, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the exterior faces 35 of theshoulder will rest on the interior faces 3? of the support, but theparts can be rotated to a position where the faces 38 and M will notregister but rather the channels it and M will allow free passage of theshoulder through the support. It is'to be noted that whenthe surfaces 36and 3? of'the shoulder and support are fully engaged the channels M3 andll register or are in corresponding rotative positions so 'that"thereare vertical shoulder and support, so that fluid from the H (itti'r'pass *tl'pward-ly through the struct'iire -andr ly dischairge f-rom thebody H3 th-roii gh the fluid conneetions fl, openings 43 of which'openi-nto the cavity' lB at apoint above me-seael e' which oariiesf thesupport l5.

stock meanshormall olds-the shoulder- 3 against --r otation relative othe support l 5 such 'a'sywould disengage-thesurfaces-3B and 3l. Thelock means may immae-oneer more arms 45 projecting-radially from theshoulder l3 to en'- gage-between lugs 46projecting-upwardly from thesupport 15.

throngs-the sup-part. When it is desired move'theshoulderthrough thesupport the arms 45 are removed by disengaging the screws 41.

The packingmeans"liiinayinclude a plate 53 designed to rest on the innerperipheral portion of the body flange as having an opening 5| receivingthe upper end of the casing M. A recess 52 is provided in t-he plate 5|to "carry packing and a port 54 extends from the recess 52 to-themarginal portion of the plateillso thata test canbe made to determinewhether or not the packing inthe recess is leaking or so that plasticpacking material can beinserted if desired.

In- =the 'caseillustrated spaced bodies of packing 55'-are carried inthe recess at either side of a spindle ring fit and a gland 5liscarried-by the plate operable by screws 58 to compress the packing inthe recess 52. It 'is"toben'oted that the plate 58 'is shaped so that itextends downwardly into the "cavity l8 in the -bodyflll and that-thevarious parts just described are arranged and related so that they areall confined between the upper and lower extremities of the plate 5i].

The plate 50 is preferably sealed to the body Ii) by a sealing ring 59arranged between the plate and the top of the flange 20. In a similarmanner the upper end of the plate 50 may be sealed to the flange 60 of afitting applied to the head through a sealing ring 6!, as shown in Fig.1.

In practice various fittings or attachments may be applied to the head.In the drawings I have shown a typical fitting applied to the head andincluding the companion flange 60 which is adapted to be secured to theflange 2d of the body H] by bolts 65. Particular attention is called tothe fact that the companion flange 60 is a plain, straight flange andthat the construction which I have provided makes it unnecessary torecess or specially form the flange Gil to accommodate other parts.

In practice the body I is applied to the casing I I through the exteriorand interior welds 24 and 25 and, if desired, the base I2 is applied tothe body and to the casing II. The support 1 is arranged in the body Itand the shoulder I3 is assembled around the upper end portion of thecasing l4, and is then welded at the desired point along the casing M.The casing i4 is trimmed or cut so that a suitable length thereofprojects above the shoulder I3 to receive the packing means l6.

During normal operation the faces 36 and 31 of the shoulder and supportare in cooperative engagement and the lock means hold the parts in thatposition. Fluid from the casing II is ne ro 'fiow'ulb through theregistering channels loans 4 todischar'ge through thefluidconh'edtions-H. The packing means id is held in place in connection withthe body it by means of the bolts as which clamp theflange towardthefiange 20, the plate 58 being clamped between the flanges and thepackin-gs- 59 and ti serving to-preventleakag-e between the plate standthe flanges. The packing means it is made tight around the-upper orprojectingend-oi the casing H and serves to prevent lealrage between thecasing andthe plate.

Whenit is desired to disengage the inner casing 'fromthe head or bodyill for any reason, as for instance, when the well-is being dismantled,a spear or other tool may be inserted in the upper 'end-portion oftheinner casing i i and the arms '45 beingremov'ed the shoulder is canbe lifted slightly from'thesupport l5 whereupon the support can befreely rota-ted so that the surfaces 36 an'd 3T aredisengag-ed and thechannels 'and ll -positioned to-allow the shoulder 53 to pass throughthe support 15. This operation can be performed either to allow thecasing id to belowered in the head or to allow the body Iii to be liftedup oil? the casing l4.

"Having described only a typical preferred form of my invention, I donot wish to be limited'or restrio'tedto the specific details hereinset'forth, but to reserve to myself any variations or modifications thatmay appear to those skilled 'in the art and fall within the scope of thefollowing claims.

-Having described my invention, I claim:

51. .A head applicable to a well casing including, a base plate withacasing opening, atubular body spaced above the plate and including asleeve portion directly over the casing opening, theupper. end-of thecasing extending upwardly through the opening in the plate, the lowerend of the sleeve portion being fully exposed at the exterior of thehead and being a substantial distance above the plate for the receptionof a weld to weld the sleeve portion on the casing, and means spacedfrom the lower end of the sleeve connecting the plate and body.

2. A head applicable to a well casing including, a base plate with acasing opening, a tubular body spaced above the base plate and includinga sleeve portion directl over the casing opening in the plate andenga-geable over the end of the casing, the upper end of the casingextending upwardly through the opening in the plate, the lower end ofthe sleeve portion being fully exposed at the exterior of the head andbeing a substantial distance above the plate for reception of Weldingentirely around the casing engaged in the sleeve, and means connectingthe base and body including ribs spaced from the lower end portion ofthe sleeve.

3. A head applicable to a well casing including, a base with a casingopening, a tubular body supported above the base and including a sleeveportion directl over the casing opening in the plate and engageable overthe end of the casing, the upper end of the casing extending upwardlythrough the opening in the plate, the lower end of the sleeve portionbeing fully exposed at the exterior of the head a substantial distanceabove the plate, welding material joining the lower end of the sleeveportion to the casing, the base being spaced from the body by connectingribs and having an edge spaced from the sleeve and spaced below thelower end of the body engageable with the casing for reception ofwelding on the casing.

4. A head applicable to a well casing including, a base plate with acasing opening, a tubular body spaced above the base plate and includinga depending sleeve portion directly over the casing opening in the plateand engageable over the end of a casing, the upper end of the casiilgextendin upwardly through the opening in the plate, the lower end of thesleeve portion being fully exposed at the exterior of the head and beinga substantial distance above the plate for reception of welding to weldthe sleeve portion on the casing, and means connecting the base and bodyincluding vertically disposed ribs spaced apart circumferentially of thehead and spaced radially from the casing and the said end of the sleeve.

5. In combination twoelements, one a tubular body applicable to theupper end portion of a casing and having a downwardly facing portionfully exposed at the exterior of the body for welding to the casing, theother a base plate having a casing opening and engageable around thecasing at a point spaced below the body, one element having verticalribs projecting to the other element, and welding material joining theelements spaced one from the other.

6. A head applicable to a well casing including, a base plate with acasing opening, a tubular body spaced above the plate and including asleeve portion directly over the casing opening in the plate andengageable over the end of a casing, the upper end of the casingextending upwardly through the openin in the plate, the lower end of thesleeve portion being fully exposed at the exterior f the head asubstantial distance above the plate for welding to the casing, andmeans connecting the base and body including vertical ribs projectingupwardly from the base and welded to the body and spaced from the casingand from the lower end portion of sleeve. e

'7. A head applicable to a well casing including, a base plate with acasing opening, a tubular body spaced above the plate and having asleeve portion directly over the casing opening in the plate andengageable over the end portion of the casing, the upper end of thecasing extending upwardly through the opening in the plate, the

the

lower end of the sleeve portion being fully ex-' REFERENCES CITED 'lhefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Bouslog June 12, 1934 Yancey July9, 1940 Minor Apr. 8, 1941 Putnam June 24, 1941 Minor June 2, 1942 LemanSept. 5, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 5, 1945Number Johnson Apr. 30, .918

